Mounting rotary driving and driven members.



N0. -642,9l8. P atented Feb. 6, I900.

' N. NILSSUN.

MOUNTING ROTARY DRIVING AND DRIVEN MEMBERS.

(Application filed Sept. 29, 189$.l

I No Model.)

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Witnesses. Inven tar.

- Nils Nilss an m: norms PETERS C0,. PHOTO-LUNG" wnsnmamu, m c.

NlTED; STATES NILS NILSSON, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.,

PATENT OFFICE.

ASSIGNOR TO THE NILSSON POWER COMPANY, OF NE XV YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,918, dated February 6, 1900.

Application filed September 29, 1898. Serial No. 692 ,174. (No model.)

To a ZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, NILs NILSSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, (Brooklyn,) in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mounting Rotary Driving and Driven Members, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the mounting of rotary driving and driven members, and espeeially to the mounting of a turbine wheel adapted to be rotated bya jet or jets of fluid to turn the wheel and produce power; and the invention has for its main object the supporting of the driven member or wheel on a rotary driving member in such a manner that the driven member will be capable of movement in a direction transverse to the axis of the driving member whenever any undue stress tending to rotate or otherwise move the wheel is exerted upon the latter.

The mounting illustrated herein and forming the principal feature of the subject-matter of this invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the general class of flexible mountings for turbine wheels which are rotated at a high velocity, and particularly as an improvement upon the construction shown, described, and claimed in m prior application, Serial No. 626,805, file larch 10, 1897.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation illustrating my present improvements applied to a turbine-motor of the type illustrated in my prior application hereinbefore referred to, parts of the wheelinclosing casing and other members of the apparatus not essential for the illustration of the present invention being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the turbine wheel as seen from the left in Fig. 1, its connection with the driving member or shaft being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section illustrating the principal features of this improved mounting, the section being taken in line 3 3, Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is an enlarged central longitudinal section of the same, the section be ing taken on a line corresponding to line 44,

similar member is to be driven at a high speed by a rotary member or shaft; but as it is es pecially applicable to the mounting of turbine wheels of steam or other similar turbines it is illustrated herein in connection with such a rotary driven member.

The driven member or wheel may be of any suitable construction, a proper one for the purpose being indicated herein by T, although it should be understood that any wheel or similar driven member may be employed, provided it has a journal-opening of somewhat greater diameter than the diameter of the corresponding member by which it is to be rotated.

A driving membersuitable for the purpose of turning the Wheel T is shown herein at S and will preferably embody a shaft, such as s, of the same diameter throughout, and a pair of bearing-blocks, such as b, fixed to the shaft sin such positions as to permit the placing of the wheel (and certain other members to be hereinafter described) between such blocks before the second block is keyed fast or otherwise secured to the shaft. Each of these blocks may be formed in a single piece or else may be of composite construction for a purpose hereinafter fully set forth, both of these blocks, however, being preferably so constructed as to be interchangeable and also properly support the yielding holding means by which the driven member will be carried directly. In the present case, as in my prior application hereinbefore referred to, this driven member will be carried by one or more yielding holding members or springs; but instead of supporting the wheel in such a man nor that the hub thereof engages both ends of the yielding member or spring, as in the former case, I prefer to mount the driven member or wheel at a point relatively remote from one end of a suitable yielding device or spring and preferably between and at a considerable distance from the ends of such device. In the improved construction this mounting of the driven member at a point remote from one end and preferably in the middle of a long and usually straight spring, such as a rodspring, results in maintaining the driven member or wheel more perfectly in a definite plane, which is of course that plane exactly perpendicular to the axis of the driving-shaft in which the driven member should always rotate in order to utilize the force of the driving medium or fluid to the best advantage and avoid unevenness of action due to wabbling and other causes. In the preferred construction the yielding holding-springs will be cylindrical rod-springs, such as 2, it being desirable to employ a plurality of these springs disposed in parallelism with and preferably equidistant from one another.

For the purpose of supporting the driven member on the yielding holding means the latter may pass into an opening in the side face or cheek of the driven member; but usually this opening will extend entirely through the driven member transversely, and the holding means or springs will then of course also pass entirely through such driven member or wheel and form a direct support located within thewheelitself. Theopeningortransverse bore in this driven member will ordinarily be substantially of the same diameter as the rod to be passed therethrough, and the latter may fit somewhat snugly in order to prevent tipping or wabbling of the wheel, it being evident that when the wheel is supported in this manner at the center of a long elastic rod or rod-spring the movements of all points near the center of such rod-spring will be substantially equalized and the wheel will move transversely relatively to the driving member or shaft in a definite plane, which is its proper plane of rotation. Moreover, the wheel will not tend to tip sidewise, as is the case sometimes when the spring or springs are of the same length as the hub of the driven member or wheel to be supported.

In the preferred construction each of the blocks Z),forming part of the driving member, has one or more openings, corresponding in number to the number of springs used, tapering away from the driven member and serving to receive and locate the springs. These openings are indicated by 5, and at theirouter ends are substantially of the same diameter as the springs or rods 2, which latter may be supported loosely at at least one end and will preferably be merely inserted into place in a pair of oppositely disposed tapering openings 5, it being apparent that when each hub has these tapering openings orbores the bores of each pair should be alined with each other. In this case there are six bores in each block 1), these bores corresponding to the number of rod-springs 2 employed.

For the purpose of preventing rotary movement of the driven member T relative to the driving member I may organize the driving and driven members in any manner suitable for the purpose; but in the preferred construction each of the blocks 1) will have a separable member or head, such as the annular disk 10, and this will have transverse openings therein corresponding substantially in size, as well as in position, to the openings 5 in the main portions of the blocks. These openings in the head 10 are indicated by 5 and will preferably be so shaped that each willhave a straight guidewall 5", so positioned that two opposite guide-walls at different sides of the axis of the head 10 will be parallel with each other and will engage opposite sides of two opposite rod-springs, as will be clear by referring to Fig. 3, this organization of the driving memberand the springs, which latter, as before stated, are fitted snugly into the driven member, serving to prevent turning of the driven member with respect to the driving member.

The heads or disks 10 may be secured to their respective blocks b in anysuitable manner-as, for example, by dowel-pins 6 on the head, these pins fitting into corresponding.

sockets or pin-holes in the adjacent faces of such blocks. The exposed faces of these heads 10 form in this instance cheeks cooperative with the adjacent cheeks of the hub of the driven member or wheel T and serve To position the latter, although of course it should be understood that to provide for proper flexibility of the connection between the driving and driven members a slight space should be left between each cheek of the driven member and the adjacent cheek of the driving member, this being clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

In a mechanism of the type hereinbefore described it is desirable to rotate the driving member in agiven path and to locate it so that it will have no endwise play while turn ing. For this reason some means should be employed for locating the driving member or shaft in its proper position and for taking up wear between its bearing-cheeks and those of the bearings in which it is supported. Hence at least one of the two hearings in which the shaft will usually be mounted for rotation should embody means for adjusting the driving member or shaft longitudinally of its axis and for holding it positively in such adjusted position.

In the construction illustrated the driving member is supported for rotation in a pair of bearings at least one of which is fixed, these two bearings being indicated herein by B and B.. The bearing 13 will in this instance embody an outer or fixed bearing 20, in which will be movably supported an adjustable bearing 21, which may be shifted toward one of the blocks 1) to locate the driving member positively longitudinally, it being evident that when this adjustable bearing is moved inward, as may be necessary from time to time, it will also serve to take up any wear between opposing bearing-cheeks.

In the construction shown the adjustable bearing 21 is externally screw-threaded, and its threads 21 engage corresponding internal threads 20 of the fixed bearing, the adjustable bearing usually being in the form of a sleeve and supporting at its outer end a suitable stop and closer for closing the end of the bearing and for engaging a transverse face of the driving member or shaft and helping to locate the latter longitudinally. This stop and closer may advantageously be a screw-plug, such as 22, adjustable in the outer end of the adjustable bearing and fitting internal screwthreads of the latter, it being clear that when the screw-plug is turned into the adjustable bearing far enough it may be brought into engagement with the outer end of the reduced portion or shaft proper of the driving member. This bearing just described will usually be suitably bushed, a bushing of Babbitt metal or similar material, such as 23, being indicated for this purpose, and in order to hold the bushing in place the adjustable hearing; may carry an annular stop atits inner end, such as the annular externallythreaded ring or nut 24, which also serves to prevent the escape of the soft metal when the bushing is heated up during the rotation of the shaft. A washer, such as 25, may be interposed between the outer check of the cooperating block Z2 and the adjacent cheek of the bearing B.

By means of a hearing such as that illusstrated herein the driving member may be located positively in longitudinal direction and the proper cheek thereof may be maintained always in contact with the cheek of the adjustable bearing member 21, even though such cheek of the driving member may not always be in contact with that of the fixed bearing member 20. Moreover, the screwplug 22 will serve as an additional means for positively locating the journal member or shaft longitudinally, as it also may be adjusted to follow and engage the end of the shaft as wear is taken up from time to time, it being clear that this adjustment of the screw-plug will also result in forcing the bushing into position to abut against the stopcollar 2e and fill the space between said stop and the screw-plug.

By means of the devices hereinbefore described a turbine wheel, and especially one of the type intended to be rotated at a high speed by one or more steam-jets, may be positively located for rotation in a definite plane .on a suitable driving member, while free to yield radially when any abnormal stress is exerted thereon, and the driving member may also be located positively at all times in longitudinal direction between two opposite and alined bearingcheeks to obtain the highest efficiency when the wheel is startedrotating.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, with a rotary driving member, of a plurality of separate springs carried by said driving member and disposed longitudinally of the axis thereof, and each separately movable independently of the others at every point that is in contact with the driven member, and a rotary driven memtary driven member supported by said rodsprings at a point relatively remote from corresponding ends of such springs.

3. The combination, with a rotary driving member, of a plurality of rod-springs carried by said driving member and disposed longitudinally of the axis thereof and loosely supported at their ends for longitudinal movement relative to one another when tensioned near their, centers, and a rotary driven member supported by said rod-springs at a point relatively remote from the corresponding ends of such springs.

4. The combination, with a rotary driving member having a bore tapering away from in contact with the driven member, and a rothe driven member and disposed longitudinally of the axis of the driving member, of a spring loosely supported at one of its ends in such tapering bore and movable longitudinally therein when tensioned near its center IIO its ends in such tapering bores and movable,

longitudinally therein when tensioned near its center, and a rotary driven member supported by said spring.

6. The combination, with a rotary driving member having a circuit of sets of alined separated bores tapering away from the driven member and disposed longitudinally of the axis of the driving member, of rod-springs supported at their ends in such tapering bores, and a rotary driven member supported by said rod-springs.

7. The combination, with a rotary driving member, of a rotary driven member having transverse bores, and a plurality of separate rod-springs carried by said driving member and disposed longitudinally of the axis thereof and passed through the bores in the driven member and supporting the latter at a point relatively remote from the corresponding ends of such springs, and each separately movable independently of the others at every point that is in contact with the driven member.

8. The combination, with a rotary driving member having guide-openings disposed at opposite sides of its axis, said gnide-openin gs having parallel Walls, of a pair of springs 10- eated at different sides of, and disposed 10nher, and normally in contact, respectively,

at their opposite sides with said respective guide-Walls, and a rotary driven member supported by said springs.

NILS NILSSON. W'itnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, CHARLES FINKLER. 

